New activity recognition, recording, analysis and control techniques, systems and sensors are provided. In some aspects of the invention, multiple sensory tags with unique identification and data transfer attributes, create positional, movement, orientation and acceleration data and supply it to a control system. The tags may be placed at location(s) on the user's body, clothing, personal effects, exercise equipment and other activity-relevant locations, to enhance activity recognition and mapping. For example, a specialized PDA may comprise part of the control system, and may provide, reflect and/or receive modified data signals to and from such tags.In other aspects, a system defines a personal activity space, samples data preferentially from that space, and performs a simplified form of object-recognition to determine, record and analyze personal activities.A GUI interface within the control system may also aid in recognizing and recording activity patterns, in addition to tags.